Sade Baderinwa: Well, right now we want to dive deeper into the issue of people with guns using them in New York to try to stop crime. Is that wise, and how dangerous is this?
Bill Ritter: To talk about this and a lot more, joining us now, the 110th mayor of New York, Eric Adams. Mr. Mayor, thank you for joining us. Really appreciate it.
Mayor Eric Adams: Hey, Bill, Sade. How are you doing? Good to see you.
Ritter: Good, thank you.
Baderinwa: Very well, thank you.
Ritter: Thank you, sir. I think people feared with fear about what's happening in the world, but you know we're not alone. Those stories about vigilantes opening fire, I want to talk to you about it. It works in Clint Eastwood movies, but in real life? What's your take on this.
Mayor Adams: No, so true. Listen, this is not a Charles Bronson area, you know, with Death Wish. People don't realize that if you carry a gun and think you're going to defend yourself, you are often the victim of that type of violence and it just doesn't help. And a third of the individuals who are the victims of shootings, of dealing with suicide, loved ones, family member, a gun in your household really increases that problem. Let the police do their job. Don't think that you can do that job without the proper training that comes from law enforcement.
Baderinwa: Well, Mr. Mayor, I want to talk about the FBI raid of Brianna Suggs' home, your chief fundraiser. The feds are now looking into whether your campaign conspired with the government of Turkey to receive illegal foreign donations. So, what is the status of that investigation? Have you been interviewed by the FBI, first of all, and have you hired a lawyer?
Mayor Adams: No, I was not interviewed, and yes, I retained an attorney for the campaign as well as myself. But I say it over and over again, Sade. I tell everyone that's associated with my staff and my campaign, we follow the law. That is my number one rule. People can tell you, they heard me say it on the campaign trail when I was in Borough Hall. We follow the law and we're going to comply and be as transparent as possible. As a former member of law enforcement, I believe inquiries should be really complied with, and we're going to continue to do that.
Ritter: I want to ask you a question, Mr. Mayor, that a lot of people, a lot of New Yorkers are thinking about, because the morning of the raid, you canceled meetings you had at the White House and with senators and congressional reps about the migrant crisis and you came right home. You just flew right back.
Yes, other mayors were there for the meetings, but who better to make the case about needing help from the federal government than you? With all due respect, wasn't that more important than coming back for a raid that you couldn't control anyway?
Mayor Adams: Well, no, it was more than who was in D.C. Remember, I was invited by the leader of that request who was the mayor of Denver. We finally have what I believe is the coalition that we've been looking for, and it's one thing to hear Mayor Adams constantly state that this is unfair for all cities, but now to have national mayors join us in doing so, those two mayors remain. I had a young intern who started in my office to become one of the most successful fundraisers in the city, went through a traumatizing experience. And we didn't know what was going on. I wanted to be back here on the ground.
Bill, you followed me for years and covered me. You know my style of leadership is to be on the front line, to be where the issues are. And that's what I felt at the time I needed to do. But those mayors continued to meet with the governmental officials because we now finally have a fantastic coalition that is stating the same thing I have been stating for over a year.
Ritter: If you had to do it over again, Mr. Mayor, would you have stayed there?
Mayor Adams: You can't live life in the rearview mirror, you’ve got to live it in the front windshield. Yes. And I'm just surprised that people don't see the human element of a 25-year-old young lady who was traumatized. And my role was to try to show some emotional support to my entire team here as well as to my campaign staff. I wanted them to know that I take, when they are employed by me or are here for my campaign or even here at City Hall, that I'm going to be there with them during difficult times.
Baderinwa: Okay. Well, speaking of difficult times, mayor, one of the biggest worries of New Yorkers is the cost of living here. It is now the worst it's been for the last two decades, and when you include inflation, you've got subway fares that are up. We just announced parking meter prices are up. You've got congestion pricing on the horizon and you know, and the list goes on. And then you mention the budget cuts you say are necessary over the next few months. Living in New York City is challenging at best, so what meaningful changes are you making to address the lack of affordability?
Mayor Adams: Well, living in this country has become [unaffordable], and if I can borrow from the greatest philosopher of our time, I like to say the rent is too damned high. Let's be clear. Everyone is hurting. So, what I had to do in the 22 months that I was in office is to find ways of putting money back into the pockets of everyday New Yorkers. That's why we did the increase in Earned Income Tax Credit. That is why we settled 100 percent of our uniformed contracts and over 90 percent of our civil service contracts.
And that is why we look at everything from Fair Futures to reduced-fare MetroCards to showing people how to stretch that dollar because it is too costly to live in the city of New York and big cities across America.
Ritter: Last question, Mr. Mayor. We really appreciate the time you're giving us and to our viewers. Lots of people are worried not just about quality of life but about the state of the world. New York, a melting pot of diversity where most people make something of a silent pledge that we are all in this together. We're all neighbors no matter our beliefs or religion or where we come from. The protests over the Middle East have been peaceful. How worried are you about, let's say, what police are worried about, lone wolf outsiders coming in here?
Mayor Adams: Well said. 120 different protests and rallies that took place since October 7th, and some of them were in close proximity to each other. And the Police Department did an amazing job of full deployment of resources. We're monitoring social media outlets. We are looking at some of the people who traditionally bring about violence.
But let's not kid ourselves. Social media is a game changer in that it allows people to be radicalized from their homes, particularly young people. What we saw in Buffalo a few years ago. When you look at that, it makes us all alarming and concerning. We have an excellent intel division with Commissioner Weiner, but the reality is we need New Yorkers, if you see something, say something, do something, contact us. That is how we’re going to keep safe.
And then let's be proactive, like what we're doing with Breaking Bread, Building Bonds. It's time for us to talk to each other again, Bill, and that's what I'm hoping we could do to bring down this temperature to engage in real conversation.
Baderinwa: Yes, that is certainly needed now…
Ritter: From your lips.
Baderinwa: …More than ever. Mayor Adams, thank you so much for joining us.
Mayor Adams: Thank you.
Ritter: Thank you, mayor.